Why I like hockey - a short essay.

I am not a sports fan. I've been known to watch the Superbowl fairly regularly, and a rainy Sunday afternoon football game on occasion. But other than that, my life does not revolve around ESPN, or any other TV channel for that matter... that is, until May(ish).

I have no patience for keeping up with an entire hockey season - the number of regular season games rivals that of the most boring sport on earth after golf (baseball). But I always check out the playoffs. Since no one seems to understand why Jen(n) the artistic pacifist enjoys ice hockey, I thought I would try to explain:

Because there's fights. Knock-down, punch-you-in-the-face fights.

~ The end. ~

No, just kidding. That's only part of it.

(But it is part of it.)

I was watching game 6 of the second series playoffs between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins (GO PENS!*) tonight. Although this was a particularly sloppy game, somewhere along the line it hit me.

Did you ever see that movie "The Cutting Edge"? No? Me neither.** But I suspect that hockey is a lot like what they tried to do with that movie. Often times gritty, rough and impossible to follow, occasionally incredibly graceful, skilled and eloquent. You try skating backwards carrying a puck, doing a perfect 180 wrist flip goal shot followed by a purposeful full-on collision into the glass complements of an opponent, and you'll see what I mean.

(We played floor hockey in middle school PE class, and I loved watching and learning the game but I hated haTED HATED playing. Mostly because the guy I had a crush on was my team's captain, and I was scared of getting hit by the puck but also didn't want us to lose, so I weaseled my way through many a game. But the sport itself fascinated me even then.)

And yes, there are times in the NHL when they thrown down sticks and just start punching the crap out of each other, and that's pretty awesome. I don't watch boxing - hitting someone for entertainment's sake is stupid. But getting caught up in the passion of the game, the win, and defending teammates who were wrongfully slashed or hip-checked or tripped... it's exhilarating. Especially because they have all that padding, so the worst that can happen is a black eye or... broken jaw or lost tooth or... OK never mind. It's exhilarating!

All this overtime from this series and the previous series against the Flyers is about to give me a heart attack, so I'm hoping that Wednesday's game ends cleanly and on time... and in the Pens' favor.

If not, no love lost, GO CAPS and I can officially cancel cable once and for all (Comcast finally realized I'm no longer qualified for their 6-month introductory offer). And begin the search for stellar sports bars for this time next year.

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* Yes, given my roots, I am supposed to be rooting for the Caps, but I am all about the Flightless Birds. It's something else to blame on my college boyfriend. And boy, am I getting shit for it on Facebook...

** Just to be clear. I have seen 13 Going on 30 and Hope Floats nineteen million times, but I have NEVER seen The Cutting Edge. Promise.